Chipotle!

A couple of years ago, a certain Colorado Public Radio news host read underwriting support spots for Chipotle, and had a tendency to over-pronounce the company's name. Cheeeee-POTE-le! It sounded more like a cheer at a bullfight than an underwriting spot. The company called to complain, and the spots were re-recorded. Well, that news host is gone now, and I haven't heard any burrito spots on CPR lately. Does Chipotle even support Colorado Public Radio? Regardless, Chipotle has been in the news a lot lately. So at CPRB, we were wondering why Chipotle has not been on KCFR News very much? Just so you know, Chipotle is headquartered in Colorado -- downtown Denver, to be exact.

A search of the Colorado Matters' site nets only 4 stories about Chipotle, since 2002, for KCFR News. One story from 2002 (repeated in 2003) is about free-range pork. A Colorado Matters story from 2004, reported about how a Chipotle fan (fanatic) created an independent website called Chipotle Lovers -- so, not a story about Chipotle (the company), per se. And, Colorado Public Radio ran two Chipotle stories, one week apart, in April of 2008 about the Slipstream's Garmin/Chipotle cycling team, competing in this year's Tour de France.

Colorado Public Radio's story from April 4, 2008 was an interview with Colorado Matters' Host Ryan Warner and "Joe Lindsay, a freelance writer who covers the sport." CPR's second story on April 11, 2008 wasn't really a story at all, so much as a news bit, which (as an aside) Colorado Public Radio has started calling a news feature, and then cross-listing on the Colorado Matter website even though the news features aren't even played during the 30-minute-long Colorado Matters show. In addition, the news bit was provided to Colorado Public Radio by Nancy Greenleese, who for years has been a freelancer/stringer (sometimes for National Public Radio), and who now works for KUNC-FM, public radio for Northern Colorado including Greeley, Fort Collins, Boulder, Denver and the mountains -- not CPR!

As many people in America (most of them white) know, the Tour de France is happening right now, and God knows, white people love public radio! So, why can't Colorado Public Radio, Colorado Matters, KCFR News, KCFR Presents -- WHATEVER -- seem to get a story on the air, about:

1. The Tour de France,
2. Team Garmin/Chipotle,
3. Drugs (antibiotics and hormones) in food,
4. Drugs (performance enhancing) in sports,
5. Tie-in of enhancing drugs in food AND sports, or
   
6. Sports-team sponsorship, in general?
   

National Public Radio had a Colorado Tour-connected story on the air during Morning Edition today. How many "hooks" does a journalist need, for crying out loud? And when they actually do get a story on the air, why can't they get a guest on the show who is connected with the race, the team, or the goddamn companies! Am I missing something here? Does Colorado Public Radio actually think one of these celebrities, team or company representatives is going to call the station to register for the Public Insight Network in order to participate in this story -- that is already IN the news -- one that is happening right freakin' now! Are you kidding me? Get on the goddamn phone and call these people!

The degree of incompetence in the way Colorado Public Radio covers the news is astounding. Actually, they way it covers sports --regardless of type -- is positively impotent! If a lily-white organization like CPR cannot seem to cover cycling -- a sport that is CLEARLY in their wheelhouse -- then how can we expect them to cover any other team sports? White people like hockey too -- I'm just saying. A search of cycle or cycling will net 3 dozen stories on the Colorado Matters website. Hockey, on the other hand? ZERO! By the way, wheelhouse? That's a baseball reference, just so the band geeks at CPR know.

Finally, Chipotle (along with many other supermarkets, vendors and suppliers, and restaurants in America) is weathering the fresh tomatoes crisis now. Additionally, NPR reported during a newscast today, that jalapeños and avacados might now be affected. Really? Is it time to give someone at Chipotle a call? Do they even use chiles and avocados burritos and tacos? Hmmmm, I don't know. Better ask a Spanish-speaking, brown person. Do any of them work at CPR? By the looks of it, NOT! However, a potential salmonella outbreak still doesn't seem like a big enough peg (journo-speak) -- even for Colorado Public Radio journalists, one of which is Eric Whitney a full time Health Reporter! Ah, but what the hell do I know, I'm just a blogger with a little public insight -- it's called common freakin' sense.

Hey, KCFR News-- drop me an email message. I will put you in touch with a Public Relations executive at Chipotle. My guess is that he's probably not in your 2700-2800 Public Insight Network Rolodex. Wankers!

KCFR News Wins Award from PRNDI.

Colorado Public Radio's KCFR News Initiative wins an award from Public Radio News Directors Incorporated. First Place, Interview: Remembering Sex-Change Pioneer Dr. Stanley Biber. Listen to the entire story here. Congratulations, KCFR News!

From PRNDI: At its annual conference in New Orleans, PRNDI announced the winners of this year's PRNDI Awards. This is the only national contest recognizing outstanding public radio news reporting at local stations. The contest covers work produced in 2006. A total of 87 awards were presented to 34 stations at the PRNDI Awards Banquet on July 21 at the Royal Sonesta in New Orleans. The full list of winnners is below.

Read the entire list of winners here. The file is in Microsoft Word format. Our thanks to an anonymous reader (and poster) for this news and for the audio link to the story on the CPR website.